Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Arrrggg... Nice Pirates!

When in college I had to return one break with a favorite childhood toy. Ahhh... the life of a recreation major! For my choice I brought in some paper. Yes, I had forgotten to grab something at home, but also I spent hours playing with paper. Hats, airplanes, origami, coutoure dresses for my dolls, tic-tac-toe, hangman, not to mention drawing and coloring...

So today's activity was one of those quintessential childhood activities... PAPER HATS!!

While there are a number of great websites that share the directions for a basic paper hat, I've added a few tricks to refine the fit. You'll need a newspaper and double sided tape.

Start with a full double page of a standard newspaper. Folded, with the fold at the top.

(This picture is already folded).

Then fold right edge to the middle crease and tear or cut off at your new crease line like so...

Fold your new smaller rectangle in half to make a new middle crease line. Unfold. Once this is done, fold the top right corner down to the center crease. Repeat with the left top. This is where the double face tape comes in. Take one piece and place it across the center fold, but under the newly folded flaps. This will secure the top portion of you pirate hat.

Fold one bottom edge up to meet the bottom of your triangle. Then repeat so you have a double thickness. Flip hat over and repeat on the back of the hat.

Secure the newly formed band of your hat with 2-3 pieces of double sided tape on each side.

Accessorize and wear!

(Or as in our case, go crazy and make them for the kids and all their stuffy friends!)